Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 36.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 219,213 shares of the company's stock after selling 126,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.21% of J. M. Smucker worth $24,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,978,000. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 925,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,861,000 after acquiring an additional 432,500 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company's stock worth $265,942,000 after acquiring an additional 418,878 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company's stock worth $411,222,000 after acquiring an additional 380,309 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at $32,988,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock traded up $1.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.39. 1,189,117 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,182,809. The firm's fifty day moving average is $111.74 and its 200-day moving average is $111.87. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $125.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Research analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -179.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.67.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.